Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope you have LOTS of treats ready so that the little goblins don't get ya! I can remember as a child how the excitement of Halloween was always such fun. That is if you don't mention the amount of times that it was cold or rainy or both here in the midwest and we had to cover our costumes up with winter coats. Bummer! Definitely not quite as thrilling as running up and down the streets, going door-to-door in your spiffy pirate costume or pretty princess ballgown. But the end result - big bags full of candy - was the same, so who's complaining?And if you're too tired to get out the carving knife to turn your pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern, you may want to try your hand at virtual pumplin carving here.

And after all the spooks are finished haunting your house, don't forget to visit the Joli Paquetblog. All the wonderful glitz and sparkle begins tomorrow - November 1st!!!! Lori Karla from My Fairie Windowhas something fabulous lined up to launch our special holiday event.

Monday, October 27, 2008

I can't believe it's only 12 more days until our little girl gets married! And I am not at all ready....what else is new, huh? There's still so much to do! I realize that all these months leading up to the big day there really isn't a lot you can do, because everything that needs to be done all has to be done at the last minute. Yikes...I wonder if we'll have everything ready in time?

Saturday her friends threw her a bachelorette party (that's our little girl wearing the huge light up diamond ring and "bachelorette" sash!) at Buca di BeppoItalian Restaurant and then on to Sundance Saloonfor a night of country music and line-dancing.

I made this little card to go with my gift from a vintage lingerie advertisement I found online. Lot's of hot pink and black seemed to be the colors of the evening. Ah, to be young again. . . . .

Friday, October 17, 2008

For those who are fans of Stampington Publications, the new issue of Somerset Studio (Nov/Dec) is on the news stands now. As usual it is filled with wonderful artwork and inspiration of the likes of Beth Quinn, Amy Hanna, Misty Mawn, and Tricia Scottand others. A while back I can remember reading an entry on Tricia's blog about finally getting up the nerve to send a box of her artwork into Stampington. That post really resonated with me and was the impetus which gave me the courage to answer a call-for-art and send in a few pieces of my own artwork. And lo and behold much to my delight, I opened the magazine yesterday and found two of my own ornaments featured in this highly regarded publication. (pages 105 & 108) It is truly an honor to have my art alongside the work of so many talented artists in this magazine which I have treasured for so many years.Many thanks to Jenny Doh, Jennifer Jackson and the others at Somerset Studio magazine for taking the time to consider my humble submissions for publication.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

I found this on Donna Downey'sblog the other day and it really hit a chord with me so I thought I would share her message with all of you. Donna says, "Inspiration and possibility are everywhere...it can be found in everything we do, share and see. The possibility is our part in manifesting it into tangible art. All we need to do is open our hearts and eyes and listen to our creative voice. The challenge is to learn to embrace your creative potential and let it free to guide your art . The power of our passion to create is the gift we all have to share."

Let's all join Donna in this personal Campaign for Creativity and share this message with others.

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

I won this sweet little handpainted and soldered charm from Laurie over at Laurie's Charming Designs. The reverse side features the word NEST on it. Isn't it darling? And don't you love how she added the watercolored nest on the front of her envelope. I love little touches to detail like that. Thank you SO much Laurie!!! I just finished making seven of these keychains for the bridesmaids (and the bride) who are standing up to my daughter's wedding. Along with the necklace and earrings I am making for them to wear to the wedding, she is giving them these keychains and a Vera Bradleybag in this pattern.

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

We went up to the cottage to check on things this past weekend. We haven't been there for eleven weeks - that's most of the summer! There's just been too much going on here at home lately.It was nice to get away and see the beginnings of the fall colors coming out. I can't believe this is the only picture I took while we were up there and I didn't take this one until right before we left. There were better examples of turning leaves and lots of pumpkins everywhere as the town is preparing for it's Pumpkin Patch Festival next week. And I didn't capture any of it. Dumb!

One night we went to a play at the local summer stock playhouse down near the lake. My family used to go there when we were kids and it really hasn't changed all that much. An hour before the play starts, they have a huge bonfire down by the lake and everyone sits around it sipping hot cocoa or apple cider. It's just like being at camp. It was a great way to spend an autumn evening.

We brought home some of these yummy honey crisp apples and my all-time favorite apple cider donuts from the farm stand. I stopped in at my favorite little vintage shop and they were having an end of the season sale, so I picked up a few goodies there too. Who can resist a sale? I worked on the necklaces for the my daughter's bridesmaids while we were there. I was able to finish them and check that project off my to-do list. The wedding is fast approaching and that list seems to be growing with last minute details. So I'd better go try to tackle some more of it right now.

Friday, October 03, 2008

I've been taking Teresa's latest E-Zine class called Bellaween and thought I would share a couple of the fun projects with you. The oh-so-talented Donna Layton, from Under The Red Roof, was a featured artist and she taught us her amazing glittering technique for the wonderful sparkly letters she uses in her collage work. The letters encircling this little box spell out the word WICKED using Martha Stewart'shematite fine glitter. Speaking of Martha, did you know that she's expanded her line of craft products to the Walmart stores now? It's a smaller selection of mostly the same products, just different packaging and priced a little less than Michael's. Of course when you have a 40-50% off coupon at Michael's then their price comes out cheaper. This is another Bellaween-inspired piece I made using some of the techniques and images from the class. I added witch hats to the line of eerie little girls and if you look closely, they are holding a glittery garland of bats.Orange polka-dots give the background a touch of whimsy.In the close-up below, I used Donna's glittering technique on rubber stamped letters and added a crepe paper rosette topped with a filmy little flower and a black rhinestone.